Man sentenced to death for killing trooper

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) _ A former Duncan firefighter is formally sentenced to death for killing an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. <br/><br/>Comanche County District Judge Mark Smith handed down the sentence

Friday, June 17th 2005, 6:46 am

By: News On 6

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) _ A former Duncan firefighter is formally sentenced to death for killing an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper.

Comanche County District Judge Mark Smith handed down the sentence yesterday afternoon to Ricky Ray Malone.

Malone was convicted May 17th of killing trooper Nikky Green on the day after Christmas 2003 after a struggle on a rural Cotton County road. A jury had recommended a death sentence.

Prosecutors say Green was trying to arrest Malone for operating a suspected mobile meth lab in a car on the side of a road near the town of Devol. Investigators say Malone fought with Green and was able to get Green's gun, then shot the trooper twice in the back of the head.